Gun Sniper
The Gun Sniper is a type of Zoid, a race of mechanical lifeforms from the fictional Zoids universe. Overview The Gun Sniper is a Velociraptor-type Zoid, created by the Helic Republic. One of the first Helic Zoids created using the Organoid System, the Gun Sniper is considered to be one of the most intelligent Zoids in active service, capable of "learning" from its pilot. Light and agile, the Zoid is designed both to function as an infantry machine and for fire support. The Zoid's primary weapon is a 144mm Sniper Rifle built into the Zoid's tail. Although it requires the Gun Sniper to be immobilized in order to fire, the powerful weapon is capable of disabling far larger Zoids with a single shot. Secondary weapons include a respectable selection of both ranged weapons and close-combat claws and fangs, making the Gun Sniper very well armed for its diminutive size. Battle Story appearances Following the acquisition of the Organoid System technology, the Helic Republic began development of a new generation of Zoids to counter the newer Guylos designs, while supplementing their own forces. Designed to replace older infantry Zoids like the Godos, the Gun Sniper proved to be very effective. It was more than capable against similar Guylos designs, especially the newer Rev Raptor, which was considered to be its counterpart. By ZAC 2100, the Gun Sniper had become the standard infantry Zoid of the Helic army. It was later replaced by the Snipe Master. Media appearances Anime Guardian Force The Gun Sniper first appeared in Zoids: Guardian Force. Initially introduced as a brand-new Helic Zoid, the Gun Sniper quickly (and rather inexplicably) appeared en-masse in the hands of not only the Helic military, but also bandits and mercenaries. In one particularly glaring example, a professional assassin known as "Phantom" appeared to have been using the Zoid longer than the Helic military had. The first Gun Sniper was used by an outlaw masquerading as a military official, who was attempting to use it to steal gold. This Zoid proved to be powerful for its size, being both highly agile and packing a large amount of arsenal for its size. It even managed to break Van's Blade Liger's Energy Shield, though Van's high level of piloting skill allowed him to seize victory anyway. One notable use of the Gun Sniper was by Hiltz's Organoid, Ambient, which fused with one and attacked Van and the Blade Liger. It is noteworthy for the radical transformation it undertook, growing spikes and turning red. It was eventually defeated by Van as Zeke gains a new ability that makes the Blade Liger even more responsive to Van's ever-increasing skill. Using data from their first encounter with the Gun Sniper, the military would produce a whole unit of specially modified Gun Snipers, armed with anti-shield munitions. Though it had proved effectively indestructible in the past (able to withstand heavy military assaults, and even barrages from a squad of Gojulas), these Gun Snipers proved able to break the Geno Breaker's energy shield, which to allowed the Zoid to be effectively attacked by the Guardian Force. The battle was not concluded however, as the newly awakened Death Stinger interrupted the skirmish with a blast from its Charged Particle Cannon. In this series, several Gun Snipers were seen with the Wild Weasel Unit attached. New Century Two major characters in Zoids: New Century used modified Gun Snipers during the series. Naomi Fluegel used a customized Gun Sniper (the "Gun Sniper Naomi Special"). The Gun Sniper Naomi Special is largely unchanged from a normal Gun Sniper, but sports slightly improved performance and a red color scheme. Several other Gun Snipers appeared in the series, and one shop was seen to exclusively deal in variants of the Zoid. Two were seen in battle alongside Naomi (pictured at the top of the page), piloted by a pair of novice pilots. After the destruction of her Dibison by the Elephander, Leena Toros purchased a modified Gun Sniper, which had been equipped with a large array of weapons. Referred to as the "Gun Sniper Leena Special" in supporting media, this Zoid is customised to have a Wild Weasel Unit, two Beam Gatling units, two triple launcher units and a quartet of missile pods in addition to all its standard armorments. It also has high capacity stabilizers and reinforced parts in various areas. Despite the weight the upgraded weapons afforded it, the Gun Sniper LS was still fairly agile. Like the Dibison (and unlike every other Zoid used by the Blitz Team), Leena's Gun Sniper jumped out of the Hover Cargo's lower front hatch, rather than being ejected from the catapult or lowered from the side panel. Naomi criticised Leena's Zoid initially, calling it "ridiculous", sparking a long-term rivalry between the two Gun Sniper pilots. Nonetheless, they would fight side-by-side when they were attacked by the Sand Stingray gang and their customized Sinkers, which the Gun Sniper LS eventually destroyed with an assault from all its weapons at once. Much like the Dibison that preceded it, the Gun Sniper LS had a tendency to be one of the first of the Blitz Team's Zoids to be defeated, despite its considerable arsenal. Like many of the custom Zoids from New Century, Leena's Gun Sniper was not available as a model and could not be built without considerable customization. What is notable about the standard Gun Snipers seen in New Century was that they all had orange colored caps instead of the yellow ones seen on the Zoid's model counterparts. Fuzors Gun Snipers appeared in several episodes of Zoids: Fuzors, usually in supporting roles. Interestingly enough, all the Gun Snipers in Fuzors sported the same custom configuration as the one used by Leena in New Century. Video Games The Gun Sniper made an appearance in many of the various Zoids video games, including both the Zoids Saga and Zoids VS series. It played a supporting role in both series. Both also featured many of the Gun Sniper variants, including both Leena's and Naomi's custom versions. Zoids Legacy Stats for Gun Sniper Weasel: Length: 11.9m, Weight: 33.1t, Speed: 160km/h Zoids Legacy Stats for Gun Sniper LS: Length: 11.9m, Weight: 60.0t, Speed: 120km/h Zoids Legacy Stats for Gun Sniper NS: Length: 11.9m, Weight: 25.0t, Speed: 200km/h Trading Cards The Gun Sniper was featured in every Zoids Trading Cards release, except for the Original Battle Card Game. Models File:Gun Sniper japanese.jpg| Japanese box art File:Gun Sniper red.jpg| Japanese box art File:Gun Sniper mould.jpg| Hasbro box art File:Gunsniper LS mould.jpg| Hasbro box art File:Gun sniper hasbro.jpg| Hasbro box art New Japanese Release *Assembly required. (Snap-together, no glue needed. Scissors or X-acto knife recommended for trimming off excess plastic bits.) *The model's colours are moulded into the plastic, and it does not need any paint. The Gun Sniper comes on four frames, along with a small wind-up motor, a clear canopy, two pre-assembled missile launchers, four rubber caps, a small grey pilot, and label sheets. The Zoid is molded in light and dark blue, with orange caps. The Gun Sniper was the fourth completely new design to be released as part of the New Japanese Release. Construction of the Gun Sniper is relatively simple and straightforward. The Zoid uses a simple wind-up motor for its motion; once wound, the Zoid will walk forwards and wave its arms. The back-mounted thrusters house an array of missiles, which can be manually opened. The boosters come pre-assembled. A button on the top of both can be pressed, which releases the thruster nozzles and an internal spring positions them outward. The Gun Sniper has suffered from consistently poor production quality, with many models being unable to walk and exhibiting poor moulding detail. A single upgrade kit has been released for the Gun Sniper. The CP-13 Wild Weasel unit consists of a replacement back plate mounting two outrigger pods, each containing two pairs of cannons, for a total of eight cannons. Contrary to common fan belief, in the Battle Story, use of the Wild Weasel unit does not disable the Sniper Rifle. Gun Sniper Naomi A limited edition version of the Gun Sniper was released in 2001, recolored in red and black to match Naomi Fluegel's Zoid from the New Century anime. New American Release A version of the model was released as part of the New American Release. No changes were made aside from the packaging. The Gun Sniper also had two releases in the Hasbro Action Figures line. One featured a red color scheme, along with the Wild Weasel Unit, and came with a Leena pilot figure. The other had a regular color scheme, along with the Wild Weasle Unit, and came with another Leena pilot figure. Both of the Zoids Wild Weasel Unit's guns could fire spring loaded projectiles, along with their sniper rifles. The NAR Zoid was also released as part of the New Pacific Release. New English Release The Gun Sniper was released in England in 2003 as a part of the New English Release. High-end Master Model In October 2009, a high-quality remodeled Gun Sniper was released by TOMY and Kotobukiya in the High-end Master Model (HMM) line. The HMM version features more detailed parts (such as a removable Zoid Core) and greater articulation but lacks the battery-powered motor of many of its predecessors. It was given the same designation number as its NJR counterpart, RZ-030. The HMM Zoids 1/72 Gun Sniper Naomi Fluegel Spec with Wild Weasel Unit was released in March 2010. A pilot figure of Naomi Fluegel is included and comes pre-painted. An optional feature of the Zoid is that one may remove the redesigned Wild Weasel Unit and attach it to a regular HMM Gun Sniper. The third HMM Gunsniper, the HMM Gunsniper Rinon (Leena) Special is the only official Zoid model kit that will have the same set of weapons that were first seen on Leena Toros' Zoid in the New Century anime series, and again in Fuzors. The Zoid will be in anime accurate colors, will have special decals for the Zoid, and will come with a pre-painted Rinon (Leena) pilot figurine. Furthermore, it will come with a Zoid-sized shopping basket similar to the one seen in Episode 15 of New Century. File:Hmm gsniper.jpg|''HMM'' Gun Sniper File:Gunsniper_naomi_ww.jpg|''HMM'' Gun Sniper Naomi with CP-13 Category:Zoids Category:Raptor-Type Zoids Category:Helic Republic Zoids